Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“It’s an honor to meet you, First Elder!” The group of people saluted the man. Despite Meng Wuyou and Mu Yan being displeased with the first elder of the alchemy sect, they still saluted him respectfully.
Gu Daofeng smiled. His delicate facial features appeared extremely kind and polite as he said, “We have eight more young disciples that have been promoted to official disciples today. In addition to that, the manifestation of the four saints blessed us. It’s truly a grand event for our alchemy sect.”
Old Man Zhou took a step forward. “First Elder, the other elders and I are glad that we haven’t dishonored your commission. We have uncovered these eight elite disciples for our alchemy sect. We would like to invite you to present them with their identity tokens.”
Gu Daofeng nodded ever so slightly. The eight identity tokens that were prepared on the console table earlier flew up and floated right before Fang Lin and the other disciples. After expressing their appreciation, the eight of them extended their hands and received the jade tablets.
Fang Lin took a look at the jade tablet and found that his name was carved on one side while the other side had the carving of an athanor. It signified the identity as an official disciple of the alchemy sect.
He kept the jade tablet carefully. The group of people waited patiently for Gu Daofeng’s briefing. After all, he was the first elder of the alchemy sect, so he would have to give some sort of formal briefing anyhow.
They watched as Gu Daofeng stood up. He looked stunning with his straight posture in addition to his elegant facial features. One could imagine that he was certainly an outstanding man when he was young.
“I’m delighted today. All eight of you are the most exceptional disciples amongst the junior alchemy disciples. You must continue to keep up the good work after becoming official disciples today. Don’t ever slack in your efforts, especially you, Fang Lin. You are the top scorer of this examination and you managed to answer all 300 questions correctly. You are the first to accomplish that in the history of our alchemy sect. The future looks promising for you,” said Gu Daofeng with a smile.
Fang Lin bowed his head in salutation. “Thank you for your praises, First Elder.”
However, in his heart, he was scornful because anyone could rattle out pleasant compliments. Fang Lin was well aware that Gu Daofeng had the intention to demoralize him. He wondered if the first elder would continue his efforts to demoralize him anymore in the future.
Gu Daofeng then shifted his attention to Kang Lu. With a nod, he encouraged, “Kang Lu, you are also the pride of our alchemy sect. I’ve always appreciated your presence. Now that you’ve become an official disciple today, I’ll reward you with a special pass to enter the alchemy academy at will for a month.”
Upon listening to his words, Kang Lu was overjoyed at once. He hastily expressed his gratitude to the first elder.
The rest of the people had rather sour expressions. Kang Lu had not been the top scorer of this examination, yet he was granted such a reward. It appeared to be quite unfair regardless of how one saw it.
It was fine for Fang Lin because he was being rewarded as a top scorer. He was allowed to enter the alchemy academy at will for a year, but what about Kang Lu? Since he was neither the top scorer nor Gu Daofeng’s relative, how could he be allowed to learn at the alchemy academy for a month out of nowhere?
The rest of the few disciples felt disturbed at once. However, they could only vent their jealousy by cursing in their hearts, not daring to express it on their faces.
“Fang Lin, as the top scorer of this examination, you are allowed to enter the alchemy academy at will for a year. On the other hand, I’ll be granting you the Golden Flame Cauldron. It is forged with the golden rock from a volcano. I hope that you can utilize this cauldron well and not disappoint me,” Gu Daofeng said. He flapped his sleeve and unleashed a cauldron shimmering with a golden radiance before everyone. It landed on the floor of the great hall with a loud bang.
Fang Lin’s eyes glowed at once. As an Extreme Alchemist, he could tell at one glance that the Golden Flame Cauldron was extraordinary. The most crucial part was its forging material. It was specially forged with volcanic golden rock which had an exceedingly high melting point and carried a certain temperature on its own, so it could increase the temperature of the athanor quickly.
Everyone including Kang Lu was eyeing the cauldron with deep envy. They felt rather jealous of Fang Lin’s fortune. This was the advantage of being the top scorer. Not only could the top scorer enjoy the advantage of entering the alchemy academy at will for a year, but he was also bestowed with the best quality cauldron by the first elder. The advantages were simply as prestigious as heaven!
Kang Lu ground his teeth in rage. The intensity of the jealousy and hatred in his eyes grew even thicker. In his perception, the Golden Flame Cauldron was supposed to belong to him, yet Fang Lin had seized it.
Meng Wuyou and Mu Yan felt relieved. They were so afraid that Gu Daofeng would be reluctant to give out the Golden Flame Cauldron in an effort to demoralize Fang Lin. Judging by the current situation, the first elder was not going overboard with his intention to demoralize Fang Lin at the moment.
Fang Lin’s expression revealed a slight reluctance when he looked at the shimmery golden cauldron. He looked back at Gu Daofeng and said with open hands, “First Elder, I can’t possibly lift such a huge cauldron though.”
Everyone was stunned for a moment. They did not expect that Fang Lin to speak in such a brazen manner. In fact, even Mu Yan could not hold back her smile.
Gu Daofeng was stunned ever so slightly as well, but he replied with a smile, “That’s okay. I shall present you with the Nine Palaces Pouch.” Upon saying that, a white pouch flew to Fang Lin who deftly caught it.
He had a troubled look on his face as he asked, “How…how do I use this?”
Gu Daofeng cracked a smile. It seemed like he was in a rather good mood. He said, “Put a drop of your blood, then you can use it as you please.”
Fang Lin nodded. He immediately made a small cut and squeezed out a drop of fresh blood from his finger onto the Nine Palaces Pouch. At once, the Nine Palaces Pouch shimmered with a soft glow. Soon, a wave of sensation appeared in Fang Lin’s chest. It felt like his state of mind was linked to the pouch.
“Keep it!” When he opened up the Nine Palaces Pouch, the Golden Flame Cauldron was sucked into the pouch in an instant.
“Thank you, First Elder!” Fang Lin kept the Nine Palaces Pouch securely, then he cupped his hands together before his chest to thank Gu Daofeng who nodded.
Fang Lin sniggered coldly in his heart. How could I possibly not know how to use this trivial Nine Palaces Pouch, huh? I’m only feigning that I don’t know how to use it so that the others don’t become suspicious.
One should know that Fang Lin had all sorts of storage talismans in his past life. The Nine Palaces Pouch was the lowest grade of available talismans. If this had been the past, Fang Lin would not have even bothered using it.
Gu Daofeng gave a short motivational speech before the group of people left the great hall as Old Man Zhou led them to their residences.
As official disciples, each of them was assigned a residence with its own private courtyard and alchemy room. Each of them could enter the alchemy academy once a month to learn as well. Their benefits were definitely much better compared to the junior alchemy disciples.
Fang Lin was very pleased with his courtyard. His was probably the largest of all. Moreover, it was located in a cozy spot that was slightly further away from the rest of the official disciples. He lingered in his courtyard so that he could familiarize himself with the environment. After a short while, someone came to visit him. To his surprise, it was his old acquaintance, Xu Shangao.
Xu Shangao’s face was filled with envy as soon as he stepped into the courtyard. He looked about from left to right as he was overcome with emotions. “Junior Brother Disciple Fang, why is your courtyard so large? I’m so jealous!” he gushed while laughing aloud.
Fang Lin sniggered and said, “There’s nothing I can do about this. I’m the top scorer, so I’m supposed to get the largest residence.”
Xu Shangao shook his head while smiling bitterly. All of a sudden, he retrieved a dark green dagger from the pocket of his chest. “Junior Brother Disciple Fang, congratulations on becoming an official disciple. Take this dagger as my gift to you. I hope that you can accept it.”
Fang Lin could tell that the dark green dagger was made with Azure Liquid Gold as soon as he saw it. It was the compensation Hao Rulong had given Xu Shangao back then as compensation for his elixir, and it was considered a rather impressive item. He received the dagger politely. “Thank you, Senior Brother Disciple Xu,” he said, cupping his hands before his chest.
Xu Shangao waved him off by saying, “The dagger is supposed to be yours. I was planning to give it to you before your return originally, but I figured it’d be more suitable to give it to you at this time after some consideration.”
The two people chatted for a while. Then, a few official disciples came to pay Fang Lin a visit out of admiration. As a common courtesy, Fang Lin could not possibly close the door to stop visitors from entering the residence, so he could only make small talk with the official disciples.
However, Fang Lin discovered that these visitors were low-grade disciples. None of them were medium- or high-grade disciples.
Xu Shangao was acquainted with these people as well. He began introducing them to Fang Lin so that the latter could befriend these people. After all, even though the competition amongst official disciples was neck-to-neck, it was necessary for Fang Lin to accumulate some networks with these people too.
The people did not come empty-handed either. Most of them came bearing gifts in the form of medicinal herbs and elixirs. They chatted to Fang Lin in a rather respectful tone as well. They had no choice but to show their respect for him since he created a great stir during the junior alchemy disciples examination, especially when he gained the favor of the four saints. Anyone would find that bewildering.
In the eyes of these official disciples, Fang Lin’s potential was limitless. It would be more beneficial for them the sooner they could get acquainted with him.
Fang Lin and Xu Shangao felt relieved when they finally left. Fang Lin’s face was turning stiff from smiling for too long.
Both of them took a seat in the courtyard. Xu Shangao advised him in a sincere and earnest tone, “Junior Brother Disciple Fang, there’s something I couldn’t openly say when the visitors were here earlier. As a friend, I must warn you that some official disciples will attempt to make things difficult for you now that you’ve just become one of them. This is an unwritten rule. A newly-promoted official disciple will always draw the bully out of the older disciples, especially since you’ve offended Kang Lu in the past. I’m afraid that some high-grade disciples will be looking to cause trouble for you.”
Fang Lin asked, “Are you talking about Yu Qiufan?”
Xu Shangao shook his head and said, “It’s not quite possible for Yu Qiufan. He is a high-grade disciple and he’s even one of the four excellencies of the alchemy sect. Being a proud person, he wouldn’t lower himself to bully someone. However, I can’t say the same for the other disciples. After all, Kang Lu is on good terms with the official disciples. There’s also the possibility of Yu Qiufan’s supporters stirring trouble up too.”
Fang Lin answered with a grunt as he frowned ever so slightly. It seemed like his days would not be smooth-sailing despite becoming an official disciple. After all, he was but a low-grade official disciple now. There were still medium- and high-grade disciples that were superior to him, and also the lurking enemies that were as formidable as the four excellencies.
“Senior Brother Disciple Xu, how formidable is Yu Qiufan anyway?” asked Fang Lin out of curiosity. After all, Yu Qiufan could possibly end up as his enemy. Not having a good understanding of Yu Qiufan would put him at a disadvantage.
Xu Shangao replied seriously, “Every single one of the four excellencies is exceedingly formidable. They are the most powerful four of the entire high-grade disciples and they are also the most hopeful candidates to become true lineage disciples in recent years. Yu Qiufan is the youngest of the four. He has already elevated to Cauldron-1 alchemist by now.”
Upon listening to his words, Fang Lin replied briefly. He did not express any surprise at Xu Shangao’s description.
Xu Shangao noticed that Fang Lin was being very calm. He could not refrain himself from saying, “Yu Qiufan is actually a Cauldron-1 alchemist. Aren’t you even a little surprised by that?”
Fang Lin looked at Xu Shangao strangely and said, “So what if he’s a Cauldron-1 alchemist?”
Xu Shangao was speechless. So what if he’s a Cauldron-1 alchemist? That’s a true alchemist, you see. He’s recorded in the alchemy federation. The identity of a Cauldron-1 alchemist is officially recognized anywhere!
One should know that there were not many people who possessed the identity as an alchemist in the entire alchemy sect. Many of the elders were only Cauldron-2 alchemists.